Former Vice President Joe Biden says the United States Constitution “clearly requires” illegal aliens to be counted for the purpose of apportioning congressional districts in states.
On Tuesday, the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments in Trump v. New York where President Donald Trump seeks to exclude illegal aliens from congressional apportionment counts that decide how many lawmakers represent each state in Congress.
Trump’s argument has been that including illegal aliens, and many temporary visa-holders, in apportionment counts dilutes the congressional representation of American citizens who live in states with small illegal alien populations.
In a statement, Biden claimed the Constitution actually requires that illegal aliens be included in apportionment counts:
Today, the Supreme Court of the United States heard a case about whether everyone in America will be counted in the Census for the purpose of apportionment of Congressional seats, as the Constitution plainly and clearly requires. Or whether the partisan politics of intimidation and xenophobia will intentionally exclude specific groups of people from being counted. It’s a case about whether we deny our ability to govern responsibly and undermine our fidelity to our laws and values as a government of, by, and for all people. [Emphasis added]
In America, we make ourselves heard when we fill out the Census to be counted. It’s a critical way the power of the nation resides in the people. That’s America. We can’t keep rewriting history, scrambling norms, and ignoring the Constitution and the precedents we abide by. It is my hope the Supreme Court does the right thing. And, Congress must give the experts at the Census the time to make sure everyone gets counted accurately. Let everyone be counted and let us begin the work to heal and unite our nation. [Emphasis added]
Already, two lower courts in California and Maryland have ruled that illegal aliens must be included in the counts.
This week, Census Bureau officials said they will not have the counts needed for the apportionment until late into January, by which time Trump may have already left office, depending on the final outcome of the presidential election. Biden is almost certain to reverse the memorandum.
States such as Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, and West Virginia are projected to lose congressional seats if the illegal alien population is included in congressional apportioning.
Today, there are an estimated 11 million to 22 million illegal aliens living in the U.S. The Census estimates that based on current legal and illegal immigration levels, by 2060 about one-in-six residents will have been born outside the country.
John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter at @JxhnBinder.
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